Mike Macdonald hits the bullseye on how to manage Sam Darnold's turnovers

The Seattle Seahawks are the odds-on favorites to emerge from the postseason tournament and win the Super Bowl this year. If they do so, it'll be with a rare dynamic that's only happened one other time in NFL history.

Sam Darnold led the league in turnovers this season - and if the Seahawks go on to win it all they'd be only the second-team ever to do so with their starting quarterback having committed the most turnovers in the NFL. The only other time was the 2007 New York Giants, headed by Eli Manning and his 27 turnovers.

Even with a flawed quarterback sometimes a team is just too special not to win it all, though - and that 2007 Giants team somehow managed to take down the greatest juggernaut in modern NFL history.

The Seahawks can definitely follow a similar path to the Lombardi trophy, but only if they continue to manage Sam Darnold's turnovers the way they have all year. Here's what head coach Mike Macdonald had to say about it, per Mike Dugar at The Athletic.

Mike Macdonald on Sam Darnold turnovers

"If you tell him not to turn the ball over, he’s not going to make plays like that,” Macdonald said last month. “We want him to be decisive and rip it and trust his training... 'That’s when Sam is at his best,” Macdonald said Monday. “Any quarterback, for that matter, but especially Sam. He’s played great football when he has played like that. That’s why we coach him that way.”

This is exactly the right answer - one that follows the Seahawks' long-standing philosophy of preferring aggressive quarterbacks who will occasionally turn the ball over rather than conservative quarterbacks who may throw short of the sticks when it matters most.

To varying degrees, every Seahawks franchise QB since the turn of the millenium has followed the same mold. Matt Hasselbeck threw 128 interceptions during his time in Seattle, but he also made three Pro Bowl teams and went to the Super Bowl. Russell Wilson threw 87 picks in his 10 years with the Seahawks - and for a little while at least Geno Smith rode the line between aggression and recklessness as well as any QB inthe sport.

Sam Darnold at his best is far more talented than any of them - to say nothing of Eli Manning in 2007. The key that the Seahawks understand is they don't want Darnold to change his approach because of a few picks.

This has served them very well in a couple critical wins this season. Darnold bounced back from a bad half against Atlanta to scorch them in the second, and despite throwing multiple picks in the rematch against the Rams he was perfect in the fourth quarter and overtime of their epic Week 16 comeback.

The Seahawks don't need Darnold to be 100% perfect to win the Super Bowl - all they need is for him to be true to his game and the rest will take care of itself.

Mike Macdonald on Sam Darnold turnovers

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